Light emitting diode (LED) chips, may be utilized in packages or devices for providing white light (e.g., perceived as being white or near-white), and are developing as replacements for incandescent, fluorescent, and metal halide high-intensity discharge (HID) light products. A representative example of an LED device comprises a device having at least one LED chip, a portion of which can be coated with a lens or layer of material having uniformly dispersed phosphoric material provided therein such as, for example, yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG). The uniform coating can convert light emitted from one or more LED chips into white light. For example, LED chips can emit light having desired wavelengths, and phosphor can in turn emit yellow fluorescence with a peak wavelength of about 550 nm, for example.
Despite the availability of various LED devices and methods in the marketplace, a need remains for parts delivering a high lumen density or luminous flux densities at high power. One problem associated with conventional devices subjected to high luminous flux densities is the generation of excessive, localized heating. Excessive localized heating can lead to the catastrophic failure of LED devices due to defects associated with thermal degradation and can also cause cracking in the encapsulant or lensed coating or even burning.
Accordingly, a need remains for LED devices and related methods for providing high luminous flux densities at high power applications having improved thermal management. LED devices and methods described herein can advantageously improve light output performance, be operable at very high luminous flux densities, and exhibit improved reliability in high power applications, all while promoting ease of manufacture.